Space Forum / Astronomy / June 2006

Friday, June 30

Catch Mercury in the twilight while you still can!
It's fading daily.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, followed closely by Red
Spot Junior, should cross Jupiter's central meridian
around 8:29 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. See the
Jupiter section below. A blue or green filter at
the eyepiece improves contrast.

Saturday, July 1

During dawn Sunday morning, Aldebaran is positioned 4°
south (lower right) of bright Venus low in the east-northeast.

Sunday, July 2

The small Earth-crossing asteroid 2004 XP14 will make
a close flyby of Earth during the early morning hours of
Monday the 3rd. It will reach 11th magnitude, making it
easily visible in 6-inch and larger scopes, and it will
be moving across the sky by about 7 arcseconds per second
of time! We'll have more later.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit around 10:08 p.m. EDT.

Monday, July 3

First-quarter Moon.

Earth is at aphelion, its farthest from the Sun for the
year (only 3.4 percent farther than at perihelion in January).

The waxing gibbous Moon lights the way to Spica and Jupiter
on July 4th and 5th. (These scenes are drawn for the middle
of North America.

Tuesday, July 4

Watching fireworks tonight? Look also for the Moon shining
in the southwest with bright Jupiter to its upper left and
Spica closer to its right, as shown here. Very high above
them is yellowish Arcturus. Very high in the east is white Vega.
Point them out to friends and family.

The Moon occults (covers) Spica for observers in western
and southern Africa.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit around 11:46 p.m. EDT.

Wednesday, July 5

Tonight Jupiter shines upper right of the Moon, as shown above.

Thursday, July 6

The red long-period variable star U Herculis should be just
about at its maximum brightness (7th or 8th magnitude) by now.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit around 1:25 a.m.
Friday morning EDT (10:25 p.m. Thursday evening PDT).

This Week's Planet Roundup

Mercury (magnitude +1 to +2) is fading fast and dropping into
the glow of sunset. Look for it early in the week to the lower
right of Regulus, Saturn, and Mars.

Venus (magnitude -3.8) is the "Morning Star" low in the
east-northeast during dawn. Look for Aldebaran to its lower
right early in the week, and directly to Venus's right later
in the week. High above them are the Pleiades.

Mars (magnitude +1.8, at the Cancer-Leo border) glows upper left
of Saturn in the west at dusk. Mars and Saturn pull a little
farther apart each day.

Jupiter (magnitude -2.3, in Libra) shines in the south to
southwest as the brightest "star" in the evening sky.

Saturn (magnitude +0.4, in Cancer) shines pale yellow low in the
west during twilight, with dimmer Mars to its upper left.

Uranus (magnitude 5.8, in Aquarius) and Neptune
(magnitude 7.9, in Capricornus) are well up in the southeast by midnight.

Pluto (magnitude 14, in Serpens Cauda) is high in the south during evening.

"Xena," or officially 2003 UB313, (magnitude 19, in Cetus)
is low in the east before dawn.